New head unit bought!

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JerryXt

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My old Rangie has the Clarion/Harmon Kardon upgrade. Unfortunately it also has a broken display on the head unit.

The cost of fixing this unit and adding bluetooth and iPod connectivity was pushing £300 and would have added a load of clutter to the dash and lost my steering wheel controls, so I put off upgrading or repairing.

Recently, I've been reading threads here on replacement head units and was encouraged by positive reports of this patch lead. So I bought one.

I've just ordered this Alpine head unit and bluetooth that has a digital iPod interface and a 24-bit DAC.

The bluetooth unit is supposed to read my phonebook and allow me to select contacts by name rather than phone number.

As a separate purchase, there's an interface kit that should retain the steering wheel controls.

Can't wait for it to arrive!
 
yes its a good lead brought one myself and running a alpine as well only thing i found with it was the balance and fader was ar5e about face but still worked with the sub etc
 
Mike, P38.

Glad to know someone has the lead working. Maybe I can get the loom seller to fix the issue if I get it too. Can't wait to get bluetooth in the car. I've had it in all my cars for the last few years and I won't use a phone in a car without it.
 
Looks good - is the head unit an undulgence at that price or do you need to spend that much to get the quality. Lost track of aftermarket stereos as not bought one for 15 years. Given the speakers/amp already in the car could you get away with a cheaper unit?
 
yup, complete indulgence. It ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality and the cost is about the same as fixing the current kit and adding bluetooth.

I was told that all new stereos came with the iso plugs, so in theory all newer head units can work with the HK Clarion systems if this lead is used.
 
p38on22s said:
that adaptor lead will work with any head unit that has /can be adapted to use iso plugs
Click to expand...

Sounds like just what I will need eventually - have a great head unit I brought back with me from the states that is fully iPod / iPhone compatible with USB, bluetooth etc. Want to fit that and rip out all the Harmon/kardon crap and fit proper amps & sub. I suppose with that in mind, I'll only need the steering wheel remote lead?
 
Clarky130, check what frequencies your US spec head unit operates on-my Jap re-import could only pick up radio 2 before I spent about £50 on sounds 4 wheels adapter lead. If your HK set up is crap, my ears really must be worse than I thought, cos mine's great. It's even better than the few Jaguars this head unit I'm using has been in previously.
 
It's not total crap, sure it was good in it's day... But the so-called subwoofer is ridiculously weak and the whole range distorts quite badly at higher volumes. I like alot of thumping bass, hence have a proper 12" Rockford fosgate sub waiting to go in somewhere, plus a proper quality MB Quart 4-channel amp to drive the door speakers... Which I will likely replace with some Kicker components I have lying around. Plan will be to have the 4-channel hid under the front pax seat, run it's output to the harness behind the stereo and hook up to the existing speaker wires, then bypass and remove the amps in the doors.

Just used to having a bit more 'oomph' in my sounds! As for the tuner, yes it will likely be an issue with the Dual (brand) HU as the US channel spacings on FM radio are different to Europe, but the HU is iPod compatible and my iPod touch has a tuner built in.
 
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I think you're speaking in a foreign language, but I get your drift, much as I've found the subwoofer boosted HK system better than an ordinary system in an X type. You take your ICE seriously!
 
Clarky130 said:
It's not total crap, sure it was good in it's day... But the so-called subwoofer is ridiculously weak and the whole range distorts quite badly at higher volumes. I like alot of thumping bass, hence have a proper 12" Rockford fosgate sub waiting to go in somewhere, plus a proper quality MB Quart 4-channel amp to drive the door speakers... Which I will likely replace with some Kicker components I have lying around. Plan will be to have the 4-channel hid under the front pax seat, run it's output to the harness behind the stereo and hook up to the existing speaker wires, then bypass and remove the amps in the doors.

Just used to having a bit more 'oomph' in my sounds! As for the tuner, yes it will likely be an issue with the Dual (brand) HU as the US channel spacings on FM radio are different to Europe, but the HU is iPod compatible and my iPod touch has a tuner built in.
Click to expand...

I started doing this in my last P38, the fronts are 3way components, I used Infinity, what u using?? Need To buy some....

I got Rockford Fosgate 4 Channel with Hertz Comps for Rear and Rockford Fosgate Mono Block running Alpine Type R 12inch Sub all waiting....

When u bypass the door amp how u gonna do it? I tried to keep the connector block to return to original if need, but that was a mission!! The only way i thought was new cables, but didn't get round to that!!

Is there enough room for a 4 channel under the seat? Also where u gonna put the sub amp?

James

PS - Not doing anything until i got it moving :eek:
 
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jamesblake said:
I started doing this in my last P38, the fronts are 3way components, I used Infinity, what u using?? Need To buy some....

I got Rockford Fosgate 4 Channel with Hertz Comps for Rear and Rockford Fosgate Mono Block running Alpine Type R 12inch Sub all waiting....

When u bypass the door amp how u gonna do it? I tried to keep the connector block to return to original if need, but that was a mission!! The only way i thought was new cables, but didn't get round to that!!

Is there enough room for a 4 channel under the seat? Also where u gonna put the sub amp?

James

PS - Not doing anything until i got it moving :eek:
Click to expand...

Sounds like a decent setup you'll have there. I've run an Alpine Type R 12, they're not bad at all. Infact, I swapped out a pair of those with Rockford Fosgate Punch P3S, same box, same amp... Made a WORLD of difference... RF subs are just in a different class! Gonna be using 2-way Kicker components (got from the states), and planning to put sub amp in the boot on passenger side (after I've ripped out the CD changer and HK crap).

Haven't looked under the seat or in the doors yet. Like you, I've got more pressing matters to fix first!
 
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